


Arrhythmia

by IcyPheonix



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Character Death, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, characters/tags to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-01 02:44:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21341785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyPheonix/pseuds/IcyPheonix
Summary: “Promise me Ai, promise you won’t leave me again.”Ai smiled as he ran a hand lazily through Yusaku’s hair, fingers dragging against his scalp. “I promise Yusaku.”Yusaku smiled as he searched out Ai’s hand, lacing their fingers together as he bumped his forehead against Ai’s. “I promise too, I’ll stay with you forever.”
Relationships: Ai | Ignis/Fujiki Yuusaku
Comments: 11
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

“I love you Yusaku,” murmured Ai as he hooked his arms around Yusaku, drawing his Origin close.

Yusaku smiled as he lay against Ai’s chest and leaned in to nuzzle him affectionately. “I love you too Ai.”

Ai made a noise like a childish giggle as his processors whirred furiously to combat his rising temperature. They were sprawled out lazily on Yusaku’s bed, Yusaku tucked comfortably in the crook of Ai’s side, drawing lazy circles on Ai’s chest with one hand. 

“You’ll always be at my side, right?” asked Yusaku, tilting his head to look up at Ai. “No more of this running away or vanishing without warning, on me?”

“Yusaku…”

“I love you Ai, and I want you to stay right here, with me.” He propped himself up as he spoke, cupping Ai’s face softly as he looked down at the Dark Ignis, his thick dark curls pooling around his head. “I want to stay with you forever.”

“Forever is a very long time,” said Ai, leaning into his touch lightly.

“Not with you it isn’t,” said Yusaku, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Ai’s lips. “Don’t ever leave my side again Ai. Stay with me.”

Ai smiled and brought a hand up, brushing a few strands of hair away from Yusaku’s face. “Why Yusaku-chan, are you proposing to me?” he asked. 

Yusaku blushed furiously, stammering as he tripped over his tongue. “I-I-I-I’m still in highschool!”

“That’s not a no,” teased Ai. 

“Get back to me once I’ve graduated,” he said, cheeks flushed a healthy red.

Ai grinned as he pulled Yusaku down into his arms and kissed him. “I’ll take it. It’s enough of a yes for me.”

Yusaku sighed and buried his face into Ai’s chest. Together forever, he really hoped that would be the case. He’d finally, FINALLY, gotten his partner back after months of searching, and he couldn’t bare the thought of being apart from him again.

After getting him back it felt as if that ‘I love you’s had never stopped, and Yusaku wasn’t sure he wanted them to stop. If it meant that Ai wouldn’t run off again, wouldn’t vanish without a trace, he’d say it every day if he had too. 

“Promise me Ai, promise you won’t leave me again.”

Ai smiled as he ran a hand lazily through Yusaku’s hair, fingers dragging against his scalp. “I promise Yusaku.”

Yusaku smiled as he searched out Ai’s hand, lacing their fingers together as he bumped his forehead against Ai’s. “I promise too, I’ll stay with you forever.”

* * *

**Next morning**

“Do you really have to go Yusaku?” asked Ai, wrapping his arms around Yusaku’s waist with an exaggerated pout. 

“I have school, so yes,” said Yusaku, placing a hand on Ai’s head. “You know I can’t skip. And before you ask, no, you can’t come with me.”

Ai huffed, still clinging to Yusaku. After finding him and bringing him back, it had been decided that it would probably be best, for the time being, to keep Ai’s existence a secret as much as they could. The last thing either of them wanted was Ai’s existence as a super intelligent AI to be discovered and for Ai to be exploited, something Ai had mentioned as one of many possibilities that appeared in his simulations. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it,” said Yusaku. “I always am.”

“I know but it’s so lonely without you,” whined Ai as he leaned against Yusaku’s back. “And boring.”

Yusaku sighed and twisted around in Ai’s arms so he was facing him. Then, he cupped his face gently. “Why don’t we make tonight a date night? We can cover up your SOLtis markers and go out somewhere,” he said. 

Ai’s eyes lit up and he made a happy noise that Yusaku could only describe as a ‘squee’. “Really? You mean it?”

Yusaku nodded, “I do, I think we can make you look human enough for the night.”

Beaming, Ai pulled Yusaku close and kissed him quickly. “I can’t wait! We get to have a date night!”

“Only if you let me go to school,” said Yusaku. “Because at this rate I’m going to be late.”

With a reluctant sigh, Ai released Yusaku. “I suppose. But in the meantime, I’ll be counting the minutes.”

Yusaku smiled as he picked up his bag from beside the door. “I’ll see you later Ai.”

As the door closed behind Yusaku Ai sighed wistfully and dramatically as he leaned against the wall, a dopey, love struck expression on his face. 

A date, they were going to go on a real, proper date. And he would get to be himself for it too! Going out in public with Yusaku often meant reverting to his tiny Ignis form and hanging around in the duel disk and while that was fine and all it made it oh so hard to woo his dear Yusaku when he was only three inches tall. Link VRAINS was the only exception as at least there no one could tell the difference between him and any other user, at least so long as the SOLtis markers were hidden from view. And even then, most often people didn’t notice and he could just say he was ‘pretending’ to be an android if they did. 

Humming happily he skipped off to lie down and do what he usually did when Yusaku was at school-the one place Ai was not allowed-which was to surf the network, literally. 

Time always seemed to fly by when he was entrenched in the network, searching for any traces no matter how small, of the other Ignis. So far his searches had turned up nothing, except perhaps a few quaint little getaways that would make for a nice, private date spot. But he was determined, he was going to find them, to find a way to bring them back. 

Ai groaned as he slid back into his SOLtis form. He couldn’t believe it, he’d actually managed to get himself lost and turned around in some back part of the network. He really hoped Yusaku wasn’t going to think he’d gone and run away on him, not after he’d promised he wouldn’t. 

“Yusaku-chan I’m-” Ai stopped and looked around as he sat up, the apartment was empty. That was strange, because if his built-in internal clock was right it was closing in on 5 o’clock, so he should have been back. And Yusaku hadn’t said anything about being late.

He gave the duel disk on the desk a poke, nope no new messages waiting for him there either, so Yusaku hadn’t called him to say he'd be late. 

Well maybe something club related had come up. It certainly wouldn’t have been the first time that the Duel Club had roped him into staying late for some reason or another. So, he was likely to be home soon, even after school stuff didn’t run that late. Ai could wait, after all, it surely couldn’t have been that much longer.

Five minutes later and Ai was already getting bored of sitting and waiting. He felt like a pet, sitting at the door and waiting for his master to return. 

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The front door rattled and Ai sat up from the bed where he'd flopped back down in boredom, looking towards it. Strange, Yusaku had no reason to knock on the door, it was his house after all, there was no reason for him to ask to enter. Then again, if his hands were full, something which had happened before, he wouldn’t be able to open the door. 

Excitedly, Ai sprinted up the stairs to the door. “I’m coming Yusaku-chan!” he called as he grabbed the door knob. “Welcome home Yu-you are not Yusaku.” When he opened the door, he was greeted, not by Yusaku, but to Shoichi, the hot dog man. 

“Ai…”

Ai stuck his head out and looked down the hall and frowned. “Where’s Yusaku, why are you here?” he asked upon finding no trace of his Origin.

“Ai...”

“You didn’t rope him into working did you?” Ai sighed, “Because if that’s the case then you could have just called me.”

“Ai.” Shoichi’s voice was firmer this time and Ai stopped talking, finally turning his attention to him proper. His expression was pinched, uncomfortable almost and he wasn’t smiling. 

“...Where’s Yusaku?” asked Ai again, quieter this time as the smile slipped from his face.

Shoichi let out a ragged sounding sigh. “Ai I...I…” Shoichi seemed to get caught up on his words, voice hitching in his throat as he spoke and he dragged a hand through his hair slowly.

A nervous pit formed in Ai’s stomach, Shoichi never got like this and he seemed, anxious, nervous even. Something was wrong. 

“Kusanagi-san...where’s Yusaku?” he asked again, trying to hold back his own anxiousness.

“I’m sorry Ai. I’m so sorry.”

For the first time Ai noticed the tears that had begun to collect in the man's eyes and he shook his head. “Why are you apologizing?” he asked, taking a half step back. 

“He’s gone Ai. Yusaku...Yusaku’s gone.”

“Gone...what do you mean gone?” asked Ai, trembling as he stood in the door. “Where’s Yusaku, why isn’t he home yet?”

Shoichi’s hands balled into fists at his sides as tears began to fall. “He died Ai. Yusaku’s dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im so sorry for this
> 
> Edit: This work is multi chaptered I'm just a dumbass who forgot to tick that box off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah so I hecked up when I first posted this and forgot to click the 'this work has multiple chapters' button.  
That is fixed now, as you can see.

Ai was frozen in place. Dead. Yusaku was dead. 

“No. No you’re lying,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re lying. This is just some kind of sick joke.”

“Ai please–”

“Where is he, where’s Yusaku?” snapped AI, cutting Shoichi off mid sentence. “This joke isn’t funny.”

“It’s not a joke Ai, he’s really gone.”

“No, no, he can’t be! He can’t be.” Ai dropped to his knees, shoulders shaking. “He promised me, he promised we’d be together forever. So he can’t be dead!”

Shoichi’s eyes softened as he looked at Ai. He reached out to touch Ai, only for his hand to be slapped away. 

“Yusaku can’t be dead, I saw him this morning and he was fine, so there’s no way he could be dead,” he snapped.

“Ai–”

“Stop lying to me! Where’s Yusaku, where is he?”

“It was his heart!” For the first time Shiochi raised his voice, startling Ai into silence. “It was his heart,” he repeated, quieter, now that he had Ai’s attention. “They...he had a heart condition, probably a side effect of the Lost Incident. His heart was weak and it just...gave out while he was at school.”

Ai shook his head, “Yusaku never said anything about being sick.”

“He probably didn’t know. He wouldn’t have known unless he visited a doctor, which he never did,” said Shoichi, shaking his head. “Honestly, they said it was nothing short of a miracle that he had lived this long untreated.” 

Ai shuddered and sobbed as he sat on his knees. “We were supposed to go on a date tonight,” he said through a cracked voice. “He promised. He can’t be gone, because...that would mean breaking his promise. Yusaku never breaks his promises.”

“Ai...Do you want to see him, and say goodbye?”

Ai dug his fingers into his knees and the fabric of his pants as Shoichi drove, the silence in the truck all consuming and stifling. It was strange to be riding without Yusaku and Ai could only pray that Shoichi was wrong. There was no way, no way Yusaku could be gone. After all, that had been the one thing Ai had been trying to prevent, Yusaku was going to live and grow old and the world wasn’t going to be destroyed. 

In all his simulations this sort of thing had never once been an outcome he’d prepared for. How could he, he hadn’t known Yusaku was sick either. There had been a few deaths that cropped up in the simulations that were freak accidents, but nothing like this, nothing relating to his health. 

There was just no way, he couldn’t be gone.

The truck pulled to a stop and Shoichi placed a hand on Ai’s arm gently, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“We’re here,” he said softly and Ai looked up. 

_ Den City General Hospital _

Ai’s stomach twisted, so Yusaku really was in the hospital. 

If the drive had felt excruciatingly long then the walk was just as bad. Ai followed Shoichi into the hospital where he made a beeline to the desk and spoke with the woman behind it. He didn’t hear what they were saying as he’d already tuned it out, to busy repeating ‘this isn’t happening’ over and over in his head. 

He followed him down the halls, though it was more like he was being led as he held onto the edge of Shoichi’s jacket and just let him lead the way. 

The noises of the hospital faded out behind him and his sensors picked up a noticeable dip in temperature and he looked around as they came to a stop outside of a room. 

The room inside was even colder and the walls were lined with what looked like boxes. Except they weren’t boxes they were drawers and the man leading the pair pulled one open and Ai froze on the spot. 

Even though the body was covered head to toe in a sheet he could see a tuft of familiar blue hair from under it. 

The man said something before stepping out but Ai didn’t catch it, his focus entirely on the figure in front of him. 

With shaking hands he pulled the sheet down and his worst fears were confirmed. It was Yusaku. Cold, pale and lifeless. No pulse, no breath and a body temperature as cold as the room. 

“No…”

This wasn’t right, this wasn’t happening. Yusaku couldn’t be, he couldn’t be. And yet, there he was, the evidence was right before his eyes. 

He grabbed the side of the mortuary table tightly, the metal groaning in protest under his hands. 

How could this happen, after everything that had happened, everything they’d done, how could this happen?

_ Ai had thought for sure that he was dead, there was no way his code could have survived what had happened. And yet, a voice reached out to him from the ether, a familiar voice calling out to him, and his vision began to clear and he was greeted by a familiar green eyed face.  _

_ Yusaku, smiled at him and held him close, crying tears of joy and he repeated Ai’s name over and over.  _

_ He’d searched for months he’d said, to find any remaining traces of Ai’s data. And then spent many more months reconstructing and repairing it. Sure, all that remained of Ai at the moment was a small eyeball, much like he had been in their first meeting, but it had been something.  _

_ “Don’t think you can get rid of me by dying on me,” said Yusaku with a laugh as he held the digital eyeball close, tears spilling down his cheeks. “We’re partners. Besides, there’s something I need to tell you.” _

_ Ai looked up at him silently, curiously as he was pressed to Yusaku’s cheek, reaching out to pat his cheeks in a comforting manner with tiny tentacle-like hands that stretched from his mass. _

** _“I love you Ai.”_ **

The words still echoed in Ai’s mind, he still remembered the first time Yusaku had told him he loved him. How Yusaku chided him afterwards about leaving him after confessing without giving him a chance to respond. He’d never forget what he felt when Yusaku said that, how he’d never felt happier. 

Yusaku had worked hard for his sake, repairing his code and even keeping his SOLtis body clean and waiting for him. 

The first time he returned to his body he was sitting on the floor, mostly naked as Yusaku had thrown his clothing in the wash, and Yusaku had yelped in surprise when the body leaning against his bed began to move (as Ai learned later he hadn’t been expecting him to leap back into it quite so soon). 

He was at Ai’s side in a flash, touching him all over gently, speaking in soft tones. Then he kissed him. Sitting in Ai’s lap he cupped the Ignis’ face in his hands and pressed their lips together. 

It was the first, but certainly not the last, time that they kissed. Ai was understandably startled at first as Yusaku kissed him. While he’d always wanted to kiss him, he’d never thought that Yusaku would allow it, that such acts of intimacy were impossible for Yusaku. And yet, there he was, his lips on Ai’s as they sat in his room. 

The rest of that day’s plans had gone out the window as everything devolved into ‘I love you’s and soft kisses and warm embraces, neither one wanting to let go. 

Ai bowed his head as tears fell onto the cold and unforgiving metal table. 

“I was supposed to be with you forever,” he said. “That we would always be together. So...why did you have to go where I can’t follow?”

How, how could human bodies be so fragile, so easily broken that one organ governed everything and if it decided to stop working so would they? It wasn’t fair. 

“Please, please wake up Yusaku, you gotta wake up, for your Ai-chan,” he said, voice shaking as he spoke. “I’m here now, so you can wake up and we can go home. So please, wake up.”

“Ai…”

“He has to wake up!” snapped Ai. “He has to. Because, because he can’t be dead, not yet, not like this.” His voice cracked as tears rolled down his cheeks. “He can’t be gone, because that would mean I’m all alone.”

But Yusaku didn’t move, didn’t wake and Ai let out a gut wrenching howl as he slammed his fists on the table. Shoichi opened his mouth to say something but Ai had already turned and bolted from the room in tears, leaving behind nothing but deep hand-shaped imprints on the edge of the table and dents where he'd hit it. 

Shoichi sighed as he stared at the door, now he needed to corral one emotionally compromised A.I. on top of telling everyone else what had happened. He was in for a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> itssss a bit of a short chapter sorry

Ryoken was just about to sit down when his cell phone began to ring. Strange, he thought, the only people with his number were Specter and the rest of the Knights, and he knew where they all were. Picking it up he looked at the number and frowned, he didn’t recognize it. 

For a moment he contemplated letting it go to voicemail and ignoring it. But, if someone _ had _ managed to get his number and was calling him then perhaps it was important. 

“Who is this?” he asked as he answered it. “And how did you get this number?”

“Ryoken!”

“Kusanagi Shoichi?!” He frowned, “My question still stands, how did you get this number?”

“That doesn’t matter right now. Are you sitting down?”

“I was about to.”

“I think you should sit down. We...need to talk. It’s about Yusaku.”

“Fujiki? Is he alright?” asked Ryoken as he made his way around the coffee table to the couch. 

“Unfortunately, no. He’s…” the main trailed off as his voice seemed to grow quiet and he took a rather heavy, shaky breath. “Ryoken, Yusaku’s gone. He-he passed away this morning.”

At those words an icy chill spread out through Ryoken’s body and he nearly lost his grip on his phone, his other hand grasping around behind him for the arm of the couch so he could safely collapse onto it and not the floor.

“Wh-what?”

Shoichi sniffed and Ryoken suddenly realized that he was trying not to cry so he could speak. “His heart just gave out during gym class. He just collapsed and by the time they got him to the hospital it was too late.”

Ryoken searched for his voice as he collapsed onto the couch, hands shaking as he fought to keep a grip on the phone. 

No, nononono he wasn’t hearing this, he couldn’t be. Yusaku, he couldn’t be dead. 

“His...heart? But how?”

Ryoken sat on the couch, his head in his hands and his cell phone on the table as he tried to process everything Shoichi had just told him. 

He was gone, Yusaku was really gone. Ten years in and the Lost Incident was still ruining lives it seemed, and right when everything was on the verge of getting back to normal too.

“Damn it!” He swore loudly, slamming his fist into the coffee table in frustration, tears burning in the corner of his eyes. This wasn’t supposed to happen, Yusaku wasn’t supposed to die, not like this. He was supposed to grow old like everyone else, not die at 16 because his heart gave out.

“It looks like I really couldn’t save you, Yusaku.”

He fell back against the couch and stared at the ceiling, Shoichi’s parting words still echoing in his mind.

‘_Hey, can I ask you a favour? Could you, maybe, talk with Ai? He’s taking this about as well as you would expect. He’s at Yusaku’s apartment right now, I doubt he’s going to leave any time soon._’

Ryoken sighed, he didn’t doubt that Ai was taking Yusaku’s death hard. After all this was the same being that had been willing to destroy himself just so Yusaku could live. It was also all the more reason to make sure he was kept calm, who knew what he might do in an irrational, emotional state. Though he wasn’t sure why it had to be him, all Shoichi had said was that ‘he was the only one who could understand what Ai was going through’. 

True to his word, Ai was still at Yusaku’s place when Ryoken arrived. He was seated on the floor, back against the side of the bed and knees drawn to his chest. His face was buried in his knees and it sounded like he was sobbing.

Ryoken had never really come to terms with the fact that the Ignis were alive. They were supposed to be computer programs that acted within a set parameter, them being alive and able to grow and feel went against everything he knew. And yet they were alive, and if needed any more proof of that, Ai sobbing into his arms, grieving over losing someone, was it. 

“Ai?” He spoke up slightly to announce his presence, which seemed to work as Ai’s head shot up at the sound of his name.

“Oh, it’s just you,” he said. 

“Gee, try to contain your enthusiasm,” said Ryoken as he descended the stairs. “Shoichi asked me to come over, before you ask why I’m here. Said I should, talk to you.”

Ai snorted, “I don’t want to talk, certainly not to you.”

“I assumed that would be the case.” Ryoken stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked over at Ai, who hadn’t moved from his seat on the floor. “He’s worried about you though.”

“Are you?”

“I’m worried about what you might do in your compromised emotional state,” said Ryoken, grabbing the chair and sitting down.

“So you still think I’m dangerous then, that’s it,” huffed Ai. “The big bad Ignis, always dangerous.”

“I’m not saying you’re intending to hurt someone, just that you’re something considerably stronger and more durable than even the toughest person on this planet, it wouldn’t take much for you to accidentally hurt someone.” He leaned his arms over the back of the chair. “You could rip the door off its hinges as if it were wet paper. Wouldn’t you want to ensure something that strong didn’t go on a grief filled rampage?”

Ai huffed and looked away. “Fine,” he said after a moment. “I’ll give you that. But I wasn’t planning on going anywhere, what’s the point?”

They sat in relative silence for a time, till Ryoken cleared his throat and spoke up again. 

“Shoichi told me what happened,” he said. “I’m sorry, I know what you must be feeling-”

“Don’t you dare!” hissed Ai. “Don’t act like you know what I’m feeling right now. I loved him! I love him more than you could understand. He was everything to me and now he’s gone!”

Ryoken’s hands tightened into fists, “Don’t think you’re the only one who knows what it’s like to have lost someone they loved,” he snapped back, rising up a bit in his seat. “I lost my father-”

“Don’t you DARE compare Yusaku to that piece of-”

“And my mother.”

Ai stopped, the rest of his words dying in his mouth as he looked at Ryoken, whose voice wobbled a bit as he spoke, clearly holding back tears.

“You’re right, the grief you’re feeling for him is different than what I feel, but I still know what it’s like because I’ve been there. Twice.”

Ai looked away, drawing his knees closer to his chest. Finally, after a moment of silence he looked back to Ryoken. 

“Does it ever get any better?” he asked, placing one hand over his chest in the approximation of where his heart would be. “Does it ever stop hurting? Because it feels...it feels like someone ripped my circuits from my chest and left a hole behind.”

Ryoken frowned. “No. It never goes away. The pain lessens with time, but it never really leaves you. And sometimes it’ll come back full force and hurt all over again.”

“That’s not fair,” muttered Ai, bowing his head and letting his hair fall over his face. “I just want it to stop hurting.”

“I lost my mother when I was young,” continued Ryoken. “Even though I barely remember her, it still hurts from time to time. And of course, there’s my father. Regardless of what you think of him, of what he did, he was still my father, my family.”

Ai curled his hand tighter, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt as he bit his lip. 

“Why...why do I keep losing everything? My home was destroyed, the rest of my kind killed, and my only friends are dead. It’s not fair, not fair at all.”

Ryoken watched him quietly, unsure what all to even say to him, how to comfort him. Finally, getting out of the chair, he placed a hand on Ai’s head in a sort of reassuring gesture.

“I’m sorry Ai, I really am,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

"I just want Yusaku, I just want him back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it really do feel like there's a hole in your chest when you've lost someone (be they family friend or even a long time pet).
> 
> source: experience that's what it felt like when the cat i grew up with passed away


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I initially couldn't figure out how I wanted to do this chapter or from whose POV I wanted it. I tossed around Ai, Kusnagi and Ryoken's POVs as ideas before I ended up on Shima after puzzling some things out with some friends.

Shima was still in shock. Total, utter shock.

In the middle of gym class, Fujiki had collapsed. Gym had never really been Fujiki’s strong point (nor Shima’s but that was neither here nor there) but nothing like this had never happened before. Sure he'd gotten winded and often lagged behind everyone, but nothing like this.  


Shim had never seen anyone collapse before, at least not outside of movies. And it was unsettling to say the least, the way his body suddenly went limp like a doll and just fell, right in the middle of running laps. And how still he was, just laying in the dirt.

The teacher got there first while Shima could only stand frozen, watching as he rolled Fujiki onto his back before he started pressing onto his chest.

CPR, Shima recognized what it was from tv. This was good, it would mean Yusaku would be ok. Except, he didn’t move, and the teacher didn’t stop.

Over and over and over. He continued the chest compressions until the sound of a siren pierced the air and paramedics appeared, someone having heard him yelling for somebody to call 119. Almost immediately Yusaku was whisked away. 

And that was a good thing right? It meant they could help him, they were the professionals after all.

And yet something left an unpleasant feeling in his gut, something about how Fujiki had remained utterly unresponsive despite everything the teacher had done.

All day the sensation nagged at him, that something was wrong. But no one had answers. He tried asking everyone he could, but no one had any more information than he did, and in some cases he had more because he was there when it happened. Even the teacher just shook his head and replied that he didn’t know what Fujiki’s condition was. Though something in his voice told Shima it wasn’t good. But still, being the optimist he was, Shima held out hope.  


And then the announcement happened the next day at school. It was just as they were getting settled into homeroom, the PA crackled to life and the principal's voice sounded, somber and heavy.

_ “I’m afraid I must bring you tragic news. Yesterday, one of your classmates, Fujiki Yusaku, passed away.” _

Shima’s books slid from his hands with a crash, scattering across the floor of the classroom. Papers fluttered about and down the stairs while pencils rolled under desks.

No, that couldn’t be right. There was no way Fujiki could just be dead. After all teenagers didn’t just drop dead like that.

But...then again, he hadn’t been responsive when the teacher had been performing CPR, and he’d looked limp as a ragdoll when they loaded him up. Did that...did that mean he’d died then? That he was already dead before the ambulance got there? Had Fujiki actually died right in front of him?  


Shima felt his stomach twist up as a sickening feeling settled in his gut and a cold sweat broke out across his skin.  No, no there was no way he’d witnessed Fujiki dying right in front of him, there was no way. That sort of thing just didn’t happen, not to him.  The sickening feeling worsened and without another word he bolted from the room on shaking legs. Shima stumbled down the halls, bumping past students and skidding around a corner and into the bathroom, his breakfast threatening to come back up. 

Nothing did come back up, as all he did was dry heave painfully as he held onto the edge of the toilet seat firmly, his knuckles white from his tight grip.  


“No he...he can’t be dead. He can’t be.”

Yusaku, Yusaku was his friend, at least he’d always considered him to be a friend even if Yusaku hadn't, so there was no way…

Trembling, he dropped to his knees as tears burned his eyes and blurred his vision, splashing to the floor as he sobbed quietly. Yusaku, his friend, was gone.

For a while Shima just sat there on the cold, hard floor, sobbing to himself and hoping that no one walked in. As he went to stand up, the datapad in his pocket slipped out, hitting the floor with a loud clatter and startling him back to his senses.  


“Oh no! I hope it’s not broken, that’s the last thing I need,” he said as he rushed to pick it up. “Hmm I'd better make sure it still turns on. My mom’ll kill me if I broke it.” As he sat down on the edge of the seat he experimentally switched it on. The screen flickered to life, bringing up the Link VRAINS front page and news feed. It seemed that save for a few scratches on the outside casing it still worked just fine.

Shima sighed in relief, glad that it was in one piece. 

Perhaps looking at Link VRAINS news would take his mind off things. Seeing his Link VRAINS heroes always helped when he was feeling upset, even if it was just silly, boring news as it usually was. Even if the news wasn't about them their faces were usually plastered everywhere and on everything. Then something caught his eye and he just about dropped it for a second time that morning. 

It was a pinned news post from SOL Technologies with a header that read ‘In Memoriam’. He’d never seen something like that posted before. Curiosity getting the better of him he tapped on it to open it and immediately wished he hadn’t. He was greeted with an article, and at the top of it all a picture of Playmaker.

The article, as short as it was, went on to say that a source close to the poster had informed them that the user behind the well known account ‘Playmaker’ has passed away sometime the day before.

“That-that can’t be. This has to be a joke, a-a hoax,” he said, rubbing his eyes with one hand, as if that would somehow change what he was reading on the screen.

There was no way, Playmaker AND Fujiki gone, at the same time. That was too weird.

He scrolled back through the article, trying to see if there was any information he might have missed.

_ ‘Passed away’ _

_ ‘Earlier the other day’ _

He scrunched his face up in concentration, something just felt weird about it all. Ok sure, a lot of people died everyday and there were bound to be those who died at the same time, so while it was uncommon it wasn’t like it meant anything.

But then again, Fujiki had always been a very private person and despite considering him a friend, Shima really didn’t know all that much about him, he didn’t even know where he lived.

“No, no way, that's just silly,” he said, smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Fujiki being Playmaker, yeah right.”

But was it really? He had started hanging out with that Homura kid at the same time that Playmaker started teaming up with Soulburner, and both Soulburner and Homura seemed to vanish at the same time. Could he really be Playmaker?

Clutching the tablet tightly he leapt to his feet, he needed to know for sure, maybe he was wrong but maybe he was right and there was only one person he could think of to ask.

“Zaizen!”

Panting and nearly out of breath, he stumbled into her classroom, holding the door with one hand. If there was anyone who might know anything about Playmaker it would be her, after all she had connections at SOL so she was bound to be privy to information most others weren't.  


“Sh-shima! What are you doing? You’re supposed to be in homeroom,” she asked, startled by his sudden appearance in the classroom.  


“I need to talk to you!” he said. “It’s really important.”

“Can it wait?” she asked, looking around now that all eyes were on her.  


“It’s...it’s about Fujiki!”

That seemed to get her attention and after a moment of contemplation she stood up and started towards him. 

“Fine,” she said as she stepped outside the classroom, shutting the door behind her. “What’s this about? I’m sure you heard the announcement.”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s why I gotta know, was Fujiki, Playmaker?”

For a moment she just stared at him blankly. “What-what gave you that idea? And what makes you think I would know something like that?”

“Well, I mean, I figured since your brother is a big shot as SOL that he might know who Playmaker is and that maybe he told you,” he said. “And...well...just look at this!” He thrust the tablet in her face, pointing to the article about Playmaker’s death.

Aoi was silent as she took the tablet from him, eyes scanning the article. For a moment, Shima thought she was going to tell him it was a fake or some kind of hoax. But then he noticed the tremble in her hands, and when she handed it back to him, he noticed there were tears in her eyes.

“Zaizen?”

She took a deep, shaky breath, as if trying to compose herself. “I have to ask, what made you think he was Playmaker?”

“It just seemed to weird you know? Both Playmaker and Fujiki die one the same day. And I know he has the same kind of duel disk as Playmaker, but I just thought he was a closet fanboy or something. And-and that transfer kid Homura, he started hanging out with Fujiki at the same time that Soulburner started showing up in Link VRAINS, and they both left around the same time too. I thought it was just a coincidence but…”

“You’re not going to go around telling everyone are you?” she asked.

“Wait so I was right?” he asked, eyes widening.

Zaizen looked around, making sure no one else was around to hear them before nodding. “I guess there’s no reason to keep it a secret any more. Just don’t go around telling everyone.”

“Y-yeah I got it,” he said, tucking the tablet back in a pocket. “Hey, do you know what happened?” asked Shima. “All they said on the announcements was that Fujiki passed away. And I know he collapsed in gym class yesterday but that’s it.”

She nodded, “My brother heard from a friend. He said, that Yusaku’s heart was weak and it just gave out.”

Shima felt his blood run cold, so Fujiki hadn’t just _collapsed_ just during gym. He really had just...  


“I-uh-I gotta go,” he said, before turning and making a beeline for the first bathroom he could find.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so long b/c I couldn't decide if I wanted to continue the chapter or end it where it was. I eventually decided to end it where it was.

Ai sighed as he sat on the floor of the Kusanagi household, the scent of burning incense wafting past his nose. 

He hadn’t wanted to leave Yusaku’s apartment, it was the closest thing he had to a home and all he had left connecting him to Yusaku. Even Ryoken had tried to get him to leave and go back with him to the ship so he could keep an eye on him.

Then Kusanagi showed up sometime in the evening, bearing the news that he was taking up the responsibility of making the arrangements and preparations for Yusaku’s funeral, including the last visitation, which was going to be held at his place. He reasoned it was the right thing to do, being the closest thing to family that Yusaku had. That was all it took for Ai to decide to leave and how he found himself at Kusanagi’s house.

He wished he could have seen it on a less somber occasion though as he was sure it was a nice place, currently though everything looked so dreary and dull.

He’d taken up a seat beside Yusaku’s shrouded body, keeping an eye on both him and the burning incense, something Kusanagi was grateful for as it allowed him to catch a quick nap without worrying about the incense going out or catching something on fire. If the bags under his eyes were any indication he hadn’t gotten much sleep.

For the most part Ai was quiet, unusually silent as he sat beside Yusaku. Occasionally he would talk to Yusaku softly, rambling about whatever was on his mind.

“You know, you really should have smiled more,” said Ai, referring to the picture that had been put up at the memorial. “Kusanagi-san needed a picture of you and he couldn’t find a single one where you were smiling. I think he had to use the least grumpy looking one he had of you.” He laughed weakly. “It’s too bad, because you have-had a really nice smile. I wish that I could see it one more time.”

Occasionally Jin would peer in and Ai couldn’t tell if he was scared or just curious about him. Jin never spoke to him, only watched him from a distance and vanished whenever Ai turned to look at him.

Then, Kusanagi came in, dressed in a black suit and tie and looking more cleaned up than Ai had ever seen him. In fact he hadn't even been aware that the man owned any clothes outside his hoodie, jeans and sweats.  


“Be prepared for people to come over,” he said. “They’re going to want to pay their respects, to say goodbye.”

Ai just nodded silently. That was to be expected after all, even if Yusaku’s friend circle had been small.

Sure enough people began to arrive, and at first it was the usual suspects. Akira and Aoi were the first two to show up, dressed as somberly as Kusanagi, Akira in a black suit and Aoi in a plain black dress.

They spoke for a bit with him, though what they said Ai didn’t hear as he tuned them out, leaning up against where Yusaku’s body lay. Oh what he’d give to hold him one more time and hear his voice.

The next to turn up were Ryoken, Specter and the Knights. Ai wanted to be mad at them, the Knights anyways, after all they were responsible for what had happened to Yusaku. But he couldn’t, he couldn’t find the strength to be mad, so he opted to ignore them instead. At least they had the decency to look upset about all this.

Ryoken looked like he was taking it the worst, barely held together the entire time and looking barely a moment away from breaking down, while Specter seemed the most held together, probably because he hadn’t known Yusaku nearly as well.

Takeru arrived later, accompanied by a girl with braided black hair, Kiku he assumed, as Takeru had talked about her before. His glasses were tucked into the pocket of his suit and his eyes were red and puffy, as if he’d been crying before he even got there.

“Ai I’m so sorry!” he said, just about throwing himself at the Ignis and hugging him tightly, pressing his face into his clothes as he sobbed.

Ai lifted a hand and patted his head softly, reassuringly. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said quietly. He never did understand why humans apologized for things beyond their control like this.

“I can’t...believe he’s gone,” sobbed Takeru. “Why? Why?”

Ai wasn’t sure how to respond and simply continued stroking his hair softly till Takeru was calm enough to let go.

At some point Ema stopped by and Ai wasn’t quite sure if her brother had come with her or not. He thought for a moment he saw a quick glimpse of him but then again it could have been a trick of the light. If Kengo did come he sure didn’t stick around.

Then Shima showed up, along with the rest of the duel club. That was a bit of a surprise but Ai supposed it made sense. Even if Yusaku didn’t really consider them friends he was part of their club so they did know him, certainly more than other people, and Aoi was bound to have told them where to go. And Shima at least probably considered him something of a friend.  


Seeing all of them, especially Shima, in black mourning suits was a strange sight to be sure and they were fairly quiet, offering soft apologies to Kusanagi and only sparing Ai a couple curious glances and whispering under their breath.

Throughout the rest of the day, small groups of people, mostly students by the looks of them, stopped by. It was a touch strange but Ai didn’t think too much about it. They probably came out of some sort of obligation given that Yusaku was a classmate of theirs. At least, that was what Ai assumed as he didn’t recognize any students aside from the duel club so he didn’t even know for sure that were from Den City High, but it would make sense.

But, then someone showed up that did give Ai pause and made him stop and think and wonder if these students were from Yusaku’s school or not. 

Go Onizuka. The pro duelist and duel entertainer turned up on the Kusanagi doorstep, accompanied by that boy from the Another incident. The sight of the man dressed in clothes that were neither flashy wrestler attire or bounty hunter gear was sure a sight to behold.

That was a bit strange. Well, he supposed it made sense for the boy, Makoto to come as Yusaku had been the one to call an ambulance for him during the Another incident, and they did go to the same school so he probably would have learned about everything that way. But why was Go there? He understood Takeru bringing Kiku along for emotional support, he had been close to Yusaku, but this kid certainly hadn’t been.

“Oh, this is a surprise,” said Kusanagi. “But, thank you for coming by. I’m...sure he’d appreciate it.”

“Well of course, I know Playmaker and I weren’t on the best of terms but he was still an ally, and he did save Makoto, this is the least we could do.”

There was a crash as Kusanagi dropped the mug in his hands and Ai just about whipped around upon hearing ‘Playmaker’.

“Playmaker?” asked Kusanagi, voice wobbling slightly. “Who...told you that?”

“Word’s been going around that this is the place to come for anyone who wants to pay their respects to Playmaker,” said Go with a frown. "Why?"

“Hey, Go look there.” Makoto tugged on his sleeve and pointed into the room where Ai was, at the picture that had been put up. Go followed his gaze and his eyes widened as he spotted the picture of Yusaku.

“That’s...that’s the boy from the hospital, the one who called the ambulance for you,” said Go.

Makoto nodded, “I never got to thank him properly, he never came by the hospital and I didn’t know how to find him. So he was Playmaker the whole time?”

Go went quiet as he stared, clearly at a loss for words.

“The um, the funeral is tomorrow,” said Kusanagi. “In case you were wondering.”

“Thank you, we’ll see if we can make it,” said Makoto before giving Go’s arm a tug, snapping him back to reality.

And they weren’t the last, throughout the day and into the early portion of the evening there was a near constant stream of people coming and going, all there to apparently pay their respects to Playmaker.

“I wish you could see just how many people there are,” said Ai quietly, watching as another small group left. “We talked about connections once, and I think...that you have far more connections than you realized. You’ve touched so many people’s lives, even if you never knew it.” He pressed his eyes shut, burying his face into the palm of a hand with a half sob. “You made a difference in so many lives. I don’t know why you thought you never mattered, that you had no connections. That’s such a lie, Yusaku. You’re more important than you’ll ever know, and not just to me.” He sighed, letting his hand fall to his side as he stared up at the ceiling. “I wonder, though, how did they find out to come here?” 

Yusaku’s schoolmates made sense, someone probably told them where to go and through word of mouth it just spread. But, who let it slip that this was the place to pay their respects to Playmaker? It certainly wasn’t Kusanagi-san, given how shocked he seemed when Playmaker was brought up. And there were only a handful of people that knew that Yusaku was Playmaker, and none of them were likely to have said anything.  


Eventually as the evening drew on the visitors began to slow down, though neither Ai nor Kusanagi could believe just how many had come. Over and over they heard how Playmaker had inspired them, how he was their hero. Ai had always known that Playmaker was something of a hero to Link VRAINS but seeing it like this, seeing all the people, really hit home just how much of a hero he was.

“I hope wherever you are you can see this,” said Ai softly. “So many people miss you Yusaku. I miss you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man. So I had to look up-to the best of my abilities-what actually goes down in regards to funeral prep/customs in Japan cause, they're gonna be different than here.  
And yeah, they are. And I had to take some liberties, cause, at least from what I could find, generally the day before the funeral there's a wake held at the deceased's house where people (friends/family generally) attend and give their farewells/condolences. The funeral and cremation happens the following day.
> 
> Except I could NOT find anything about how that's done if the deceased lived in an apartment. I'm not sure Yusaku's landlord would appreciate having a dead body brought back and having all those people coming and going.  
So the Kusnagi residence it was (plus because Yusaku has no family do it).


End file.
